Guitar Riffs for Beginners

A riff is short, musical theme that forms a song’s framework. Songs like Black Dog, Iron Man and Don’t Fear The Reaper are great examples of songs built around memorable riffs. With the availability of guitar tab, riffs are a popular and easy introduction to guitar for many new players.

Paul Andrews makes a long awaited return to Guitar Noise with the sequel to his February lesson on power chords. Here you’ll find the lowdown on augmented and diminished power chords, plus examples from everyone from Bush to Hendrix to Metallica to Eminem.

Allan’s back and this time he’s got a lot of good advice to pass along on the subject of power chords and double stops. As in his first article, Forty-Something Guy Learns Guitar From The Internet, this piece includes a lot of links to other helpful articles as well as numerous musical examples.

First time contributor Chris Korsak hails from Portland, Oregon, where he works as a guitar instructor. In his lesson, you will learn some guitar riffs to such Black Sabbath songs as: Iron Man, The Wizard, Paranoid, and Sweet Leaf.

Here is a great introduction to the Mixolydian scale – how to find it, how to use it. It’s great for blues, rock and a host of other things and, as always, Darrin makes learning it a joy and not a chore.